Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Are DARPA's dissolvable electronics the future of espionage?

America's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) doesn't want our military technology to fall into enemy hands, where it could be studied, reverse engineered, and possibly used against us. That's why the Pentagon's research arm is investing significant resources into developing battlefield electronics that, literally, disintegrate on command.

Above is a small piece of hardware that's part of a program called VAPR, or Vanishing Programmable Resources. Essentially, it's a thin sheet of programmable silicon, magnesium, and silk that dissolves when liquid is introduced. Imagine littering a battlefield with VAPR sensors to collect intel on the enemy. Once our soldiers complete their objective, a button is pressed, liquid is introduced, and hundreds of sensors quietly vanish in the blink of an eye. While self-destructing technology is nothing new, these electronics don't leave any blown-up parts behind to collect. Researchers even imagine implanting them in our soldiers' bodies to monitor their health remotely.

More here: http://theweek.com/article/index/239366/watch-are-darpas-dissolvable-electronics-the-future-of-espionage

Prior to starting ComSec LLC in 2007, Mr. LeaSure was active within the counterespionage, counterterrorism and TSCM fields for 26 years. He has attained the prestigious CCISM, Certified Counterespionage Information Security Management Certification. He also has extensive training, knowledge and experience in the identification of eavesdropping devices, espionage detection methods and the intelligence collection tactics most often employed by perpetrators of electronic espionage.

J.D. LeaSure is also the Director of the Espionage Research Institute International (ERII). As Director, he is tasked with ensuring the organization is successful in its mission to provide continuing education, facilitate professional relationship building and ensure the counterespionage & counterintelligence skill sets of its membership remains current as espionage tactics and devices evolve.